11/22/2011

What Happened To Thanksgiving?

Note: This post is written by daughter, Elizabeth.This is actually a repost of what she wrote this time last year. It was so good I thought I would run it again (yes, I'm biased). This is the same daughter that will be going to Baylor next year (majoring in Journalism with a PR specialization: same as her father).

Yesterday our family enjoyed a peaceful Sunday at home, which at this time of year naturally involved watching a little football. Actually, to be honest, for me “watching a little football” usually translates into doing homework during the game and only looking up for the commercials (sorry Daddy!).

As I viewed the commercials yesterday, I was astonished to find the number that already sported festive color schemes, familiar Christmas jingles (already stuck in my head), and “limited time only” holiday bargains. It feels like just last week we were bombarded by bags of candy and spooky costumes for Halloween.

So this bears an interesting, and, in my humble teenage opinion, quite disturbing, question: where did Thanksgiving go?

It happens every year, and each year escalates to another level. Our consumer driven society spends countless dollars disguising their homes and children into haunting creatures in October, and then one short week later begins singing Jingle Bells and preparing to deck the halls with eight little reindeer. Even though Christmas is almost two months away. All the while people forget perhaps the most important holiday, which just happens to fall in between Halloween and Christmas: Thanksgiving.

If we forget to celebrate Thanksgiving and simply move right from eerie costumes to wrapped packages, we forget to remember the truly valuable things in life. We forget to invest ourselves in the people around us, who, when all the gifts are unwrapped and turkey eaten, will be the only ones still around tomorrow to make life worth living.

Though I may only be sixteen and even naïve in some people’s eyes, I have been taught to Think Huge by thankfully savoring every moment of life and, most importantly, the people in it. So here is my bit of advice:

This Thanksgiving, try something new. And, no, I don’t mean a new green bean casserole recipe. Think Huge and really take the time to invest in all the people at your Thanksgiving table. Honestly ask them how they’re doing and actually listen to the answer. Maybe go around and share something you’re thankful for or a goal for the upcoming year. Whatever you do, savor the day and the people in it before planning where to go shopping on Black Friday. Think Huge by giving back to the people around you and let them know how much you are thankful for them.

And to my wonderful family, I love you so much and am so thankful for you!